


The Westchester Zoo Chronicles

by cloudyjenn



Category: The Avengers (2012), X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: F/M, M/M, except for Steve and Tony, kinkmeme prompt, they are penguins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-07-15
Updated: 2013-09-03
Packaged: 2017-11-10 00:10:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/460067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cloudyjenn/pseuds/cloudyjenn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a new penguin comes to the zoo, Charles is convinced the humans have brought him a mate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I am writing this at the kinkmeme, but wanted to transfer it here to an easier format to follow. It's part of my Penguin verse which somehow includes Dean/Castiel at another zoo in Cincinnati. It's a story about penguins, so it's pretty ridiculous. I do hope it makes you smile though!

“Alright, now follow me.” Erik watched Charles waddle towards the far wall, a string of little gray puffballs hopping along behind him. “Through the fence, you'll see several bright blue flowers.” The babies all enthusiastically chirruped their understanding. “That is known as a 'cornflower' or the Centaurea cyanus,” Charles explained with a level of seriousness that bordered on what Erik remembered of his father's tone when he taught Erik to avoid large ocean predators.

This cornflower lesson was another reminder to Erik that his life had changed drastically yet again since coming to this zoo. This _prison_.

“You're not planning on eating Charles, are you?”

The voice startled Erik. He hadn't realized he'd been concentrating so hard. The penguin standing alongside him was female and judging by the smell of her, permanently mated. Not that Erik cared about that sort of thing anymore. Families were made to be broken and he'd have no part in it.

“Hardly,” Erik grunted. “He's been blabbering to the chicks for almost an hour.”

“Well, sure,” the female said cheerfully. “It's school.”

“School?” That was a human concept, Erik knew. Not the same as teaching the young how to survive, but rather about random facts they couldn't possibly need. “Why?”

The female shrugged. “That's just Charles, I guess. My brother has always been a bit unusual.” She offered him a knowing smile, one that invited him to share the joke.

Erik declined.

“So that's what we do in zoos? Waste time coddling the chicks?” Erik asked, not bothering to hide his disgust. What would happen if the humans turned on them? What if a predator escaped from one of the other cages? How could these chicks defend themselves?

“It's not a waste of time,” the female disagreed. “The kids enjoy it and Charles likes to help the rest of us with them.”

That derailed Erik off his building rant. “Isn't one of the chicks his?”

“Oh no,” she said, the knowing smile back in place. “Like I said, Charles is...unusual. He's never really found the kind of penguin he's been looking for.”

Against his better judgment, Erik was curious. “What kind is that?”

She nodded towards where her brother stood. “Why don't you see for yourself?”

Erik looked over just in time to see Charles' eyes snap up from Erik's own tail feathers, his left wing flapping with obvious embarrassment. “Um, alright, children. Time to learn about what water is made of,” Charles blurted quickly, nudging at the collection of cheeping babies swarming around his feet. Erik stared after him, surprised and confused.

“What-”

“Welcome to Westchester Zoo,” she interrupted him before hopping away to join Charles, leaning down to cuddle against a chick that must belong to her.

Erik watched them suspiciously for the rest of the afternoon.


	2. Chapter 2

“Professor, who's that over there?”

Charles had to lean down to hear Hank's small whisper. The chick had only just begun speaking and most of his words came out on a soft shy wobble.

“His name is Erik. Don't stare; it isn't polite,” Charles admonished him.

He really should give himself the same advice. But Erik was so...well, he was unlike any penguin Charles had ever met. Almost certainly an ocean bird. His tense stance and suspicious gaze didn't match the peaceful life of a zoo penguin. The way he moved, so fluid and economical with his motions put Charles pleasantly on edge.

“He's scary,” Hank whispered into Charles' side.

“I'm sure he isn't dangerous.”

Actually, Charles was not sure of that, but he did rather think Erik wouldn't harm them. The humans were very careful about how they maintained the habitat where Charles and his friends lived. The real question was why they had released Erik into the enclosure two days previously. The last time adult penguins had been transferred in was when Moira and Emma arrived, both sent to tempt Charles into mating. He shuddered. What a disaster that had been. Surely the humans understood about preferring your own sex. Charles was certain his favorite blond-haired male keeper was mated to that loud bearded male that came around to lecture the penguins on robots.

No, they must have just not known at first and...realization struck Charles hard in his chest. Oh. Oh! What if...What if the humans sent Erik here to be Charles' mate!

His wings began flapping of their own accord.

How very exciting! 

***********************

Raven gaped at Charles. He got the impression that were she not squatting over Kurt to keep him warm, she would be flapping and flailing in his face.

“Are you insane? That Erik bird is not very pleasant,” she chirped, shaking a wing towards where Charles could just make out Erik stomping back and forth. There wasn't another penguin within ten feet of him. It made Charles' heart ache. Obviously Erik needed a friend.

“Not everyone has to be outgoing and friendly,” Charles reasoned. “I'm sure Erik just needs some time to settle in and get to know us. This could be my only chance at finding a mate, Raven.”

“You can't honestly think the humans put a male penguin in here for you,” she said, incredulous. Beneath her feet, Kurt cheeped his displeasure with Raven's excited tone and shaking body. “The only reason the humans put Moira and Emma in here was because they want us to have more babies. You told me they said that!”

Raven wasn't lying. As the only penguin who understood human honks, Charles knew a great deal about how the humans ran the zoo. They were hoping that Charles would help produce more eggs, but they hadn't forced the issue once Charles made him opinion known. They were equally pleased when Moira mated with Sean and Emma with Janos. Charles just couldn't share Raven's mistrust of their human caretakers.

“That's true, but they aren't cruel, darling. They want us to be happy. Why else would they play with us?”

All the keepers loved petting and playing with the birds. They were especially fond of cooing at the chicks. Raven might not see it, but sometimes Charles could swear he almost felt the humans' affection for them.

Raven scoffed. “You're just brainwashed because Steve takes you away and teaches you things and tickles you.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “If I didn't know better, I'd say you have a crush on Steve.”

“Don't be stupid,” Charles said with a laugh. Honestly, Charles might have odd tastes in romance, but not _that_ odd. Besides being huge and hairy, humans were just so...odd. They walked funny. “But you're not entirely wrong. Steve loves us, I know it. The others do too. I don't think it's entirely out of the realm of possibility that they've brought me a mate.”

When Charles was very young, an accident involving the water slide had him out of commission for several months. While he was busy healing, the humans kept him in their indoor places and let him wander about while they worked. That was when he learned human honks and began to learn the information he now taught the chicks. Steve just happened to be Charles' favorite, but all the humans were very kind and gentle. They still brought Charles away to cuddle him and take measurements of him.

It was clear by her expression that Raven wasn't convinced.

“Alright, even if they did bring you a mate...which they so didn't...it doesn't mean Erik is going to just fall into your lap. He's really not very warm,” she said. A hint of worry crept into her tone. “I'm not sure he's right for you.”

“Nonsense,” Charles said cheerfully. “He's perfect.”

Not to mention outrageously attractive.

“You'll see. I'm going to go talk to him now.”

As he waddled away, Charles heard Raven mutter, 'oh this cannot be good.'

He chose to ignore her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This is a video of Steve tickling baby!Charles: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lTluZktb1s


	3. Chapter 3

Since arriving at the prison, Erik had done very little other than march back and forth in the small home space he'd claimed and occasionally surrender to his body's need for fish. Every so often, he would see the other birds edging closer as though intending to approach. But a simple glare was usually enough to send them stumbling away to the other side of the enclosure.

That is, until he found himself toppling into Charles.

"Oh dear me, I'm so sorry," the other penguin spluttered, shaking his unusually slender wings with distress. "I should have announced myself."

The truth was Erik should have noticed the small bird creeping up on him. Especially since he brought that odd spicy scent along with him. Penguins weren't supposed to smell that way. Erik shook his head, but the smell remained firmly entrenched.

"What do you want?" he growled, confused and irritated by how Charles caught him off-guard.

"Oh I've brought you something." Charles' tone and manner changed from apologetic to enthusiastic fast enough to bemuse Erik further. He waddled over to a small pile of leaves and fish sitting near Erik's home space. Charles bit the end of a very large fish and tried to lift it in his mouth to drag it over to Erik. But the fish must have been half the size of Charles' body. Far too large for the tiny and somewhat ridiculous bird to carry. 

Erik sighed. "Here, stop that." He joined Charles and snagged up the fish in his own mouth. Since he didn't know where Charles had been going with the food, Erik paused and gave Charles a questioning look, awaiting instructions.

He didn't expect to see joy shining in Charles' bright black eyes.

"Oh. Oh, Erik, you accept my fish?" His voice shook with unrestrained emotion. "Oh, my friend. I'm so happy!"

Erik remembered about two minutes too late that accepting fish in this manner meant you agreed to be mates with a penguin.

Which meant Charles now believed they were mates.

Fuck. 

***********

Charles had never been happier in his life. Ever since he realized he enjoyed looking at the sleek tail-feathers of male penguins instead of female, he'd been convinced he would never find a mate. Most of the time he pretended the idea of being alone didn't bother him. After all, Charles had his sister, his adorable nephew and all his lovely little students to teach. It was a lot more than many penguins could claim. 

But he'd always been lonely. Apart from the rest in a way that mattered far more than he was willing to admit. None of his fellow penguins had ever directly said unkind words to him. Yet Charles could sense their confusion, pity and as always when penguins didn't understand something, their fear.

All those years of loneliness and calmly accepting his lot in life had been washed away in an unexpected and very welcome change in fortune.

Erik was _very_ handsome.

An unusually tall bird, Erik towered over him, but Charles rather liked it. He also liked Erik's dark intelligent eyes, his sharp jutting beak and his glossy black tailfeathers. Charles could spend hours just staring at him. The idea that they were actually mates and he could touch Erik...well, Charles hadn't yet truly processed it.

The first order of business was to begin their nest. Erik was too speechless and overwhelmed after he accepted Charles' fish for further discussion, so Charles left him with a cheery 'Goodbye, love!' and went straight to the far north corner of their little enclosure to start hunting for the best rocks and twigs to stuff into their nest. They'd probably have to build around Charles' homespace. Erik had chosen a stark and uncovered part of the enclosure and it wasn't at all cozy or pleasant.

"What are you doing?" Charles jumped in place and dropped the small bundle of twigs he'd had clamped in his mouth. His sister stared at him, one wing twitching erratically the way it did when she was really surprised or upset. 

"Building a nest! I'll have you know, I was absolutely right about Erik. He _is_ my mate."

"I'm sorry, what? Have you been eating the ashy sticks again?" Charles scowled at her. That had been _one_ time and he'd come back to his senses the next morning. 

"No, of course not. I promise you, Raven. I did everything the right way. I got the biggest and best fish I could find, I brought it to him and he accepted it." He hopped from foot to foot in his excitement, releasing a tiny trumpet of pleasure. "He's mine now."

Raven didn't seem to have a retort for that proclaimation. In fact, all she could do was stare at him the same way Erik had stared, beak slightly open. 

"Now I'm starting our nest. I know we can't have an egg, but it doesn't mean we can't have a comfortable home," he said reasonably, turning to waddle back towards his pile of acceptable rocks. "Why don't you help me? Erik's still a little-" 

"Charles."

The low growl of his mate's voice tingled through his whole body, as though Erik were touching him all over with his beautiful wings. Charles turned eagerly to him, but frowned at the thunderous expression he saw on Erik's face. 

"What's wrong, darling?" 

"I'm sorry, but there's been a misunderstanding." Erik leaned down to retrieve Charles' fish, uneaten still and threw it down to plop at Charles' feet. "You don't want me as a mate. I'm sorry, but believe me when I say I'm saving you a great deal of pain in the long run." 

He didn't wait for Charles' response before turning and marching away, leaving Charles to stare after him.

"No," Charles said weakly, his wings drooping to the ground. "Erik..." Shock rolled over the pleasure he'd been feeling, temporarily numbing him to the razor sharp pain of the rejection. "I don't understand." 

"Oh Charles." 

Raven carefully trundled up to him, close enough to cover his feet with her own like they used to do when they were children and one of them was hurting. 

"Honey, you just got ahead of yourself. Did you even talk to him about it?" 

"I thought..." Charles hid his face against Raven's neck. "I thought he understood."

"Oh Charles," Raven said again and it only served to make Charles feel worse. For a brief moment, he'd thought he'd finally found a way to be happy like all the others. Now Erik had left him even more alone than he was before.

They stood like that for a very long time, leaning against each other amid the beginnings of a nest Charles would never get to finish.


	4. Chapter 4

Erik was boiling angry. Oh it wasn't the most angry he'd ever been, but it climbed close to that mark every time Erik looked back at where Raven and Charles stood. How dare that bird? Erik glared at him. The small penguin rested his head on his sister's neck, his soft shapely wings dragging the ground. His rage threatened to consume his vision. How dare he look so...so sad! 

Like it was all Erik's fault. Erik kicked a rock and grunted a little in relief at the pain. Stupid arrogant presumptuous sad bird.

If it didn't mean having to actually go near Charles again, Erik would stomp over there and _force_ him to stop being devastated. But Erik knew Charles' type. His mother had warned him about birds like Charles long ago when she was still alive and warm in his life. About birds who'd try to make Erik feel sorry for them by acting sad and lonely. _One day you'll meet a bird and everything they do will make you crazy,_ she'd said. Ever since then, Erik had been on the watch for such manipulative penguins and it seemed like Charles was just such a bird.

The best course of action would be to leave Charles and all his little family completely alone. Erik needed nothing less than to fall under the entrancing spell of a witch-penguin.

This plan worked very well until after the last feeding of the day. All the fish seemed rather anemic compared to the feast Charles had brought him, but no matter. At least eating these fishes wouldn't mean anything in the long run. Erik learned during the meal that he'd become something of a social pariah. The attempts to include him ground to a halt and he could have no doubt who was at fault.

Oh well. Erik preferred solitude. Life was easier when you only cared about yourself.

He started to settle in for the night. His living space was much more open than the claustrophobic little nest Charles had been planning. If he'd been sleeping there, he would have been pressed close to Charles. It probably would have been too hot. And smelly like that woodsy scent of Charles. In fact, that smell probably would transfer to Erik's feathers. He bet he could smell Charles' scent on him all day.

Erik shook himself, lost in thought for a moment. Right. Time to sleep. In his nice open and lovely living space.

The moment he made the decision to sleep was the moment a fierce-eyed Raven showed up in his living space, her wings rigid at her sides. Erik tensed himself for a fight. "Have you come to peck me to death for not accepting Charles?"

"No," she said, her voice far calmer than her stance would suggest she felt. "I realize most of us mate instinctively, but I'm like you. I didn't accept Azazel until I got to know him better."

Confusion muted his rekindled anger. "Then...why are you here?"

"Oh I am here to peck you to death," she assured him. "But not for refusing Charles' fish. I'm going to kill you for the way you threw the fish in his face! Do you know how humiliated and hurt he was!" Her voice climbed in pitch, now shaking with her emotion. "He's been curled in a miserable ball all day!"

For some reason, Erik reflexively ducked his head, a defensive gesture against pain. The second he did it, he caught himself and straightened up. His anger. He needed his anger back. "You mean when he hasn't been busy telling the other birds to ostracize me!"

Raven actually growled at him. "You were right," she snarled. "Dropping him was the nicest thing you could have done." Erik stumbled back a step and suddenly it hurt to breathe. "Charles hasn't said a word to anyone. But we _care_ about him. We hate seeing him sad and it's not exactly a huge secret who was the one that made him that way. If you are being ostracized, blame yourself. _Not_ Charles."

Even when Charles wasn't present, he was manipulating Erik's feelings. His words failed him. His anger faded in the face of a curious feeling growing in his chest. He kept seeing in his mind's eye the image Raven described of Charles laying depressed in his lonely living space.

Raven sighed. Her previous rage seemed abruptly missing, as if it had drained out in the blink of an eye. "You have no idea what you just gave up." A new emotion grew in her dark eyes. Erik wasn't so numb that he couldn't recognize it as pity. "Don't expect me to go easy on you when you realize your mistake and come crawling to me for help."

That threat was enough to spark a bit of Erik's familiar anger. He scoffed. As if he would beg anyone for anything. Much less the sister of a witch-penguin.

And he would have told her that if she hadn't whirled around and left him scowling after her. That whole family was going out of its way to ruin his new life.

Although...the only one that occupied his thoughts for the rest of the night was Charles and his stupid drooping sad wings.


	5. Chapter 5

The only reason Charles emerged from his solitary nest the following morning was because Hank turned up at his side, squeaking and jumping on his wing. 

"Charles! Charles, you're late for class," he scolded, his gray feathers standing on end in his distress. "Are you okay?" he asked, peering into Charles' eyes. 

His sudden worry warmed Charles' heart for the first time since Erik trampled on it. After moping all night about how he'd be alone forever, here Hank was proving him quite wrong.

"Yes, Hank," Charles reassured him. "Only sleeping late on accident. Why don't you go and tell the rest of the class I'll be there soon?" Hank's concern lifted immediately and he chirped with excitement, tumbling away to complete his mission.

For a brief moment, Charles stayed in place, staring at his feet and drawing in deep cleansing breaths. His feelings still ached and loneliness crowded around him like a physical being, but Charles knew deep down that Raven was correct. Erik had misunderstood Charles. His rejection, though blunt and abrupt, wasn't intended to be malicious.

Even after giving himself a pep talk, Charles struggled to emerge from his nest and give his fellow penguins a smile. Judging from their sympathetic looks, he wasn't managing more than a tepid impression of cheerfulness, but no one called Charles on it. He was thankful for the emotional privacy. It would likely be several more days before he was back to his usual self.

Charles wound his way through the other birds, waddling slowly towards his waiting group of students. Today, he'd planned to discuss how lungs worked, a lesson he learned from Steve when he was injured. It took more than effort than usual to recall the details, but soon enough, the lesson plan began forming anew in Charles' mind.

His thoughts were so thoroughly occupied that Charles almost missed seeing it. The only reason his head turned towards the commotion was because his own nephew's confused cheeps reached his ears.

When Charles looked up, he saw a small group of penguins moving oddly, flowing into a mob and accidentally knocking Kurt to his bottom. Charles marched over to them. "Be careful!" he scolded as he nudged Kurt to his feet. "Are you alright, love?"

"They pushed me, Uncle Charles," Kurt complained. "Just 'cause they said we can't talk to the scary penguin."

"What?" Charles asked, startled. "Scary penguin...?" 

But the answer immediately became apparent. The angrily muttering group of penguins that had knocked Kurt over were casting icy glances at a lone penguin stomping his way around the pool towards his dinner.

It was Erik. Alone and radiating disdain in his every action and expression. The sight of his stiff wings and angry eyes dug down deeper than the pain of Charles' rejection. Erik shouldn't look that way. 

"Who told you not to talk to him?" Charles asked, trying to keep the growing rage out of his voice.

"I dunno," Kurt said, sullen. "They just said he was a meanie and I wasn't even gonna talk to him! I was gonna go swim."

Charles glared at the chattering group of birds now moving away to huddle around a pile of fish. "Kurt, whoever said that was being mean themselves. There's no reason not to talk to Erik, okay? Tell all your friends that he's a very nice bird." 

Which...was probably stretching the truth, but the idea that Charles' friends were making Erik an outcast on his behalf made him feel sick with guilt.

"Okay," Kurt agreed readily enough and then ran away at full tilt towards his little group of friends. Charles straightened up. This mess was his fault. Erik may have hurt Charles, but he didn't deserve this treatment.

The first order of business was getting the attention of his loving, but misguided friends. Charles deliberately walked past the group from before, eying several of the faces he knew best. _Really, Alex, I expected better from you_ , he thought. Something of his disappointment must have transmitted to the younger penguin because Alex turned his beak down in shame.  
Charles felt their eyes follow his path around the pool and over to where Erik picked at the leftover fish. A flare of unexpected longing hit Charles. He wanted to be the one bringing Erik lovely fish to eat and vice versa. Erik was tall and strong, but too thin. He needed better than this flimsy stack of fish parts.

"Erik?" he said, trying very hard to keep his tone friendly and calm. It was harder than he'd hoped. This close to Erik, Charles could smell the other penguin's gorgeous scent. Erik had that fresh clean scent that every ocean penguin carried, one which reminded Charles of frigid air and crashing waves. But under it, there was a smell unique to Erik. A dense spicy scent that made Charles' wings quiver and his tail flutter.

Erik's head jerked up and for a brief stunning moment, Charles honestly thought he saw pleasure in Erik's black eyes. But then Charles blinked and all he saw was Erik's familiar scowl. 

"What do you want?"

Charles scowled right back. He'd come to apologize after all. Erik didn't have to be so gruff. 

"I came to apologize and show everyone they should stop shunning you," he declared. "I'm terribly sorry for the misunderstanding, but you don't have to be so rude to me just because I thought...because I felt...well, because of what happened," he said, flushing hot with embarrassment. Charles had never before known the agony of liking someone who so clearly didn't like you back.

"You know, I didn't _ask_ for your fish," Erik snapped back and while the words hurt, Charles couldn't help noticing the way Erik stiffened after he said them and he certainly didn't miss the flash of regret in those lovely eyes. Charles' heart squeezed in his chest. Erik was obviously hurting as much as Charles, though for different reasons. It couldn't be easy to leave your home in the ocean..the glorious ocean!...and come to a strange zoo where all the other birds refused to talk to you just because another penguin liked you. Charles didn't know anything about Erik's past, but if lashing out was all he knew, Charles would have to teach him there were other ways.

"I know," Charles said softly. "I really am sorry about the misunderstanding, Erik. It's just..." He sighed, left wing flapping once to show his chagrin. "My desire for a male mate is very unusual, I know that. When I thought I'd found a like-minded bird, well...I suppose I overreacted."

The idea of Erik eventually mating with a female penguin here in the zoo rankled, but Charles vowed to keep his beak shut. It would be unbearably hypocritical of him to criticize Erik's desires. 

"I understand now that you're not like me and...-"

"I didn't know males mating was an option," Erik blurted suddenly, his eyes dark with confusion. "I've never wanted any kind of mate."

"Oh." Sadness tugged at Charles' heart. Did Erik mean he didn't want a mate because mating didn't matter to him? Or was it because of whatever towering walls he'd built up around his heart? If the first, Charles could learn to accept. The second...Charles would do anything to climb those walls and dump himself on the other side. "You never met anyone nice at the ocean?"

For a moment, Charles thought Erik wouldn't answer him. His natural inclination was to step forward, cover Erik's feet with his own and tell him to forget the question. But his natural inclinations around Erik were usually tragically inappropriate. They didn't know each other well enough for that kind of intimacy and when was Charles going to finally learn that? 

"I'm sorry, you don't-" 

"I wasn't old enough to mate when I left the ocean," Erik interrupted him, his voice almost too quiet to hear.

"You...oh, you came from another zoo?" Charles asked, confused. 

Erik wouldn't meet his gaze, instead bending over to once again peck at the leftover meat. 

"No," he said after a bite. "I was...somewhere else."

"I don't understand. Where could you-" 

"A bad place, Charles," Erik grunted. "I don't want to talk about it."

Charles couldn't begin to imagine what Erik meant. All he knew was that the memory turned Erik's expression blank, a far more disturbing look than his typical anger or disgust. 

"Alright, Erik," he said, voice small. "We don't have to talk about it." He couldn't help waddling a step or two towards Erik. Just close enough for the sides of their feet to touch. 

"Not ever."

When Erik didn't move his feet away, Charles felt a surge of hope in his breast. If they couldn't be mates, maybe there was a chance they could be friends. Erik clearly needed one.

"Have you eaten?" Erik asked in an angry tone, as though irritated with Charles' stomach for needing food. Charles glanced over to his small group of waiting students. Well. Perhaps they could wait until Charles had a touch of breakfast. 

"I could eat," he said, looking up at Erik with a soft smile.

The small remains of the morning's feast weren't really enough to fill them both, but Charles couldn't remember the last time he enjoyed a meal so much.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the penguin verse, the humans give the birds different names than the birds give themselves. Jsyk.

"I'm worried about Michael."

Tony glanced up from his phone, but his eyes were blank. "Michael?" he said, eyebrows crinkling. "Who the fuck is Michael?"

It sounded as though he were contemplating getting jealous for no particular reason. They'd long ago established that Steve had no interest in dating other men. He liked to tell Tony he didn't have the time to learn another guy's habits. But only because it made him scowl. "Michael," Steve repeated. "The rescue penguin. He's not fitting in very well. I'm afraid my boss might decide to ship him away."

"Oh." Tony only vaguely understood Steve's obsession with his penguins. Once Steve explained to him that he loved his penguins the way Tony loved his bots. Tony had complained that Steve didn't lovingly construct his penguins bit by agonizing bit, so it wasn't the same. Steve retorted that his penguins could show affection, therefore making them superior. To which Tony replied that Dum-E was very affectionate and shut up. Still, Steve had caught him several times talking to the penguins about work, so Steve believed Tony understood more than he let on. "Well, if he's not doing well here, wouldn't sending him away make sense?"

Steve heaved a reluctant sigh. "I suppose," he said sadly, his gaze glued to the small window at the back of the penguin enclosure. In a moment, he'd have to leave for the day. Tony was taking him to dinner and Steve wanted to enjoy his night, but...he couldn't help worrying over his birds. "I just feel like a failure. Michael had such a hard life and now he's having a hard time again. I feel like sending him away is admitting defeat."

"Hey, you're the most devoted penguin caretaker I know," Tony said and when Steve rolled his eyes, his expression turned more serious. He stood and walked over to slip his arm around Steve's waist. "Okay, I'm being serious now. You do everything for these little guys. If he's not...making friends or whatever the fuck the penguins are supposed to do, it's not because you didn't try hard enough."

It was easier to believe with Tony holding him close, his comforting scent wrapping around Steve. "Yeah. Maybe. I just wish-"

"Look," Tony interrupted, nodding towards the window. "Isn't that the new one with the squirt penguin?"

Steve whipped his gaze back at the window. His heart skipped a beat. "It's James," Steve said, dazed. James looked tiny next to Michael; his beak barely reached Michael's shoulders. Steve recognized that flapping excitement very well. James was very calm and even elegant for a penguin, but every so often something would excite Steve's favorite little penguin so much he'd almost flap himself exhausted. Clearly, Michael was just such a thing. "He looks happy."

"I told you he was gay. Like those ones in the news with the eggs," Tony said.

At the time, Steve had told Tony he was crazy, but now...well, if nothing else, it was great that Michael had made a friend.

"I hope it sticks," Steve fretted.  "I don't want to lose Michael."

"I can't believe you're more worried about your penguins' love lives than your own," Tony groused, pressing his forehead against Steve's shoulder.  

"Why should I worry about that?" Steve asked, incredulous.  He finally turned away from the window and steered Tony back towards the door, stopping along the way to grab his wallet and phone.  "You're pretty much a sure thing."

"Hey...okay, yeah, that's true," Tony admitted.  

Steve managed to put Michael and James out of his mind that night, but he began watching them closely over the following days and by the end of the week, he was convinced.  Judging by the way James followed Michael everywhere and eventually the times he saw Michael hesitantly seek James' company, the two were becoming an item.  

Although what kind of item, Steve couldn't be sure.  


	7. Chapter 7

It wasn't that Erik started liking Charles. No, he was still convinced that Charles was a witch-penguin and out in the wild, Erik would avoid him using every single survival skill his father taught him. But inside this prison, Erik didn't have much choice. Penguins were creatures of habit and once Charles dragged bits of fish to him for the fourth time--promising all the time that he understood the fish didn't mean anything--Erik decided to allow it. If nothing else, Charles somehow managed to procure the biggest and sweetest of the fishes.

Probably because he was a witch-penguin.

But he was also the only penguin who wanted to talk to Erik and he quite neatly solved Erik's problem of keeping track of important information from around the enclosure and the zoo beyond. Charles was, it seemed, something of a gossip. Pretty soon, Erik knew all about the snake escape, the dramatic break-up of the zoo's two most popular polar bears and the plans to build a new section exclusively to exhibit animals from Australia. And of course, Charles kept him well-informed on penguin happenings. He heard about Moira's new egg, the new female caretaker that baby Hank liked very much and was treated to previews of nearly all Charles' lessons before he gave them. 

Erik hated to admit to liking anything about Charles, but he had to admit, Charles' chattiness made it easier to avoid questions about his past. Sometimes Erik wondered if Charles did that on purpose, but no. Surely the little flappy witch-penguin wasn't quite that clever. 

And so it went. Every day at every meal, Charles would waddle over on his tiny feet with a too-big fish in his mouth and plop down beside Erik to talk between bites. Erik would listen and shove fish into Charles' mouth when he felt the other penguin wasn't eating enough to sustain even his small frame. It wouldn't do to have Erik's source collapse from hunger. For some reason, Charles always turned shy and flapped too much when Erik did that to him. He couldn't be sure why. It probably didn't matter as long as Charles kept coming to him every single meal. 

Then one day, he did not. 

Erik sat in his usual place with the fish he'd wrestled from the caretakers as his offering to their meal. He waited beside the succulent fish for 15 minutes while his suspicion grew with each Charles-less moment. Finally, Erik stood up and stretched his neck to look for the witch-penguin. At his height, Erik could see the entire enclosure. When he spotted Charles sitting beside his sister and that older gnarled mate of hers, anger ruffled the feathers on Erik's tail. Charles was supposed to sit beside him for every meal. Erik needed his information. 

He stormed across the enclosure up to the small family. "What are you doing?"

"Oh Erik," Charles said, delighted. "You've come to join us!"

What. "No, I-"

"How lovely. Come here and sit beside me. We have so much fish here to eat," Charles gushed, nipping at Erik's arm feathers to drag him to sit. "Raven was just telling us about Kurt's swimming progress. You remember I was telling you about Kurt learning to swim, yes?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"He's getting so strong," Charles continued over Erik's objections. "I'm really so proud of him. He'll be a fine big penguin someday like his father."

"A better penguin," Azazel grunted, but in an almost good-natured tone. Erik hadn't even realized the grizzled penguin could sound halfway pleasant. Must be Charles' powers working on him. Or his sister's. If Charles was a witch, chances were his sister was one too. 

"I think he'd be proud to take after you," Charles argued. Raven joined the discussion and before Erik could think to get up and leave, he'd eaten up all the fish Charles passed him and spent the last half hour listening to the other penguins gossiping and teasing one another. 

Well. That just meant he could have even more information than before. 

So he'd allow it.


	8. Chapter 8

Even though Charles had managed to trick Erik into sharing his meals with the other penguins--so long as Charles stayed by his side for every second of those meals--he worried about the fact that Erik still slept alone every night. Penguins were very social creatures. Even the single birds like Charles who had solo nests kept them near the others. It comforted Charles to hear his fellow penguins slow steady breaths and to know that if he got too cold, he could quickly find a willing warm-buddy for the night. 

Charles fretted that Erik needed a warm-buddy. 

The nights had gotten progressively colder in recent weeks. A good development for the penguins who preferred cooler temperatures. But that didn't mean they couldn't get too cold at night without a nice warm body to cuddle. Since Charles had never mated, he switched between several friends on cold nights. Sometimes Azazel curled up around Kurt alone and pushed Raven away to snuggle with her brother. Other times one of the other couples invited Charles to share their warm nest for the night. Then there were the nights Charles ended up the center of a fluffy pile of his students.

Erik always stayed out in his too-open sleeping space. Charles didn't want to push him to share, but he couldn't help worrying very badly one night during a particularly violent cold snap. The humans tried to regulate the temperature where they slept, but this cold still managed to seep into the enclosure, lending a crispness to the air that demanded multiple warm-buddies. Raven and Azazel invited Charles to join the sleep group they'd formed for the evening with Moira and Sean.

"Oh I probably will, love," Charles assured his sister. "But I'm sorry, I have to check on Erik."

Raven glanced over Charles' shoulder towards where Erik slept too far from the others. She rocked from one foot to the other. "Are you sure? He's come so far with you being patient..."

"I won't push him," he promised. "I just need to make sure he's not too cold. He could get sick out in this."

"You're talking like we're out in the wilderness...Charles! Be careful!" she called after him when Charles spun and began waddling away in the middle of her scolding. 

Raven worried too much. Erik wouldn't get mad at Charles. They'd become friends, Charles liked to think. He was very proud that he had not let his feelings destroy the development of a nice friendship. Yes, he still couldn't help admiring Erik's tail feathers and sometimes secretly daydreaming they were more than friends, but Charles didn't force Erik to endure his emotions. So he wouldn't take it poorly if Charles perhaps invited him to share warmth for the night.

"Get away!"

Then again, maybe he would. Charles paused a few feet from Erik, shocked by that outburst. Hurt flooded down to his wingtips and Charles turned to storm away when he noticed something that drew him up short. 

Erik's eyes were still shut.

"...away! Stop!"

His wings twitched with distress. Those harshly whispered words trailed off into whimpering sounds that clawed at Charles' heart. Erik wasn't talking to him at all. He was dreaming. Having a nightmare, it sounded like. Charles _knew_ he'd been right to come over and check on Erik. 

"Erik," Charles said gently. "Erik, love, wake up." He shuffled up and rocked against Erik. "You're having a bad dream, darling. You need to wake-oh!"

Erik snapped awake with a violent flap and whirled on Charles, his wings up in a defensive position. For a second, Charles saw pure hatred in his eyes, but that quickly changed to confusion and then finally relief. "Charles?" he rasped. "Is that...oh. I'm...I'm at the prison."

Charles wished Erik wouldn't call the zoo 'the prison'. Now wasn't the time to mention it though. In all the weeks they'd known each other, Charles had never dared put his feet on top of Erik's. Now felt like the exact time to give it a shot. Very cautiously, he stepped forward and lightly placed his much smaller feet atop Erik's and nuzzled at his neck with his sharp beak. 

"Are you alright? You were having a nightmare, my friend."

To his delight, Erik allowed the comfort. Even leaned against Charles a touch. "I dreamt I was back at the place," he said in a very low tone. 

"What place?" Charles whispered back, his feathers tense with the fear of pushing too hard. Charles felt like Erik was finally telling him something important. Something that still haunted him. A burden that Charles could help lighten.

"The lab," Erik said. "Shaw's lab." His feathers shook, but not from the cold Charles expected. "The place they took us after they snatched us from the ocean."

Charles knew what a lab was because the humans in the zoo had them. But those rooms didn't make Charles quake with fear. The lab Erik mentioned made his scent turn sour with lingering anger and terror. Charles rubbed his beak against Erik's beautiful sleek feathers. "You're not there anymore. You won't ever be there again."

"I know that," Erik said with a fierce determination. "I broke out and I knocked over the bad liquid and burned the place down."

Shock coiled in Charles' breast. Erik had burned down a human place? "What do you mean?"

"The human, Shaw. He did human science on the birds. It hurt us," Erik said, a world of emotion in those simple words. "It killed us. By the time it was over, I was the only one left." Erik wasn't even looking at Charles anymore. He was staring ahead at the memories in his mind; Charles didn't even know if Erik realized who was listening to him. "I worked on my cage for months to loosen it and when I finally broke out, I kicked over one of the bad liquids onto a small fire. I didn't care if I lived anymore. I wanted him to stop hurting the birds." 

"Oh Erik," Charles murmured, horrified for his friend. "That sounds so awful."

"Other humans came," Erik said, looking down at his feet covered over by Charles'. "They put out the fire and took me away to another place to recover before I came here. I don't know what happened to Shaw. I hope he died." His gaze shot up to Charles' face. "That's why you should not stay around me. I'm a murderer and I don't regret it."

Charles realized that what he said right now would have a profound effect on whether Erik could eventually truly mix into the group of penguins living at the zoo. Now that he'd been taken by humans and harmed in such a way, Charles knew the humans wouldn't put him back in the ocean. If he left this zoo, who knew where he'd end up? Maybe alone in a secluded place and Charles couldn't stand the thought of that happening to his beloved Erik. 

"You're not a murderer. Shaw is a murderer. You were trying to stop him. I'm so proud of you, darling," Charles crooned. He stood up on his feet until his beak pressed under Erik's, a very affectionate gesture. "I'm so glad you got away and came here to us."

Erik paused with tension for a long dreadful moment, but then he relaxed into the hug. "Why are you out here? It's too cold," he finally said, his tone accusatory. Charles smiled against Erik's feathers. Erik hid his worrying and affection under gruff angry tones. But he could no longer fool Charles. 

"I wanted to see if you wanted a warm-buddy. My...my nest is free..."

"Hmmph," Erik grunted, apparently put out. "I suppose you'll freeze to death if I say no."

"Oh yes, I believe I would."

Erik glared at him all the way over to Charles' nest, but that didn't stop him from curling up around Charles in the warmest corner of his little nest. 

Charles had never slept better in his life.


End file.
